Rowena's eyes, usually so firmly armored against the tumult of her emotions, now shimmered with a rare vulnerability.
The universe seemed to hush its breath as her gaze locked with the man she had been yearning to see again, the crimson in her eyes reflecting a figure that felt simultaneously like a distant memory and a piercing present.
"Asher..." The name escaped her, a whispered prayer finally answered after 14 agonizing months of void.
He had finally returned, alive and well.
She could hear her heart race in her ears.
Her foot lifted, a step to bridge the distance between them, when the immediate reality buzzed back into life around her.
Eradicator slowly raised her head to look at the royal consort, the red slit in her eyes briefly flickering.
The guards' eyes flicked among each other, their armor barely concealing the tumultuous mix of shock, excitement, and anticipation.
Whispers and mumbles of their royal consort's astonishing return rippled through their ranks, disbelief mingling with the words.
The rising star of their kingdom, returned from the Quest of the Worthy all of a sudden and not merely returned but seemingly with a frightening power that sent Drakon, a peak Soul Reaper, sprawling with a mere kick!
Seron had his brows raised but wondered why his son chose to stay inside. He also couldn't leave to find out at a moment like this. However, he was also taken aback by the sheer strength Asher just displayed.
However, behind the shadows of the door, a pair of uncanny red eyes were trembling violently.
To see that he not only returned alive but became so strong as well made her grind her teeth.
She clicked her tongue and left with loud footsteps since she had something important to take care of now that the quest had finally ended.
"Consort Drake! You dare try to kill our prince?" Belthor's roar, edged with outrage and disbelief, shattered the moment, his finger trembling as it pointed toward Drakon, now crumpled and bleeding from the mouth at the foot of the castle stairs.
It seemed as if Drakon was barely alive, his rib cage almost shattered. If the kick had been a tad stronger, Drakon could have died on the spot!
However, his eyes were trembling with shock, and he wondered if he was imagining it or if this alien actually dealt such a serious blow to Drakon with just a single kick.
Such an increase in strength within 14 months was absurd! If anybody could have gotten the Deviar, it should have been Agonon.
But this also made him realize the Quest of the Worthy had finally come to an end and that Agonon and the rest must have also reached back.
The Queen Consort and the King would definitely be making the rest of the kingdom busy for the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, every pair of eyes swiveled toward the unconscious draconian prince, a collective realization dawning in them.
Their royal consort had indeed almost destroyed the Draconian prince with an effortless, single strike.
Questions swirled in the air, thickening the tension – how had he come by such staggering power? Could he have truly absorbed the fabled Deviar?
If that was really true, how did he survive against so many geniuses who were far stronger than him?
Lots of speculation and wild guesses began to form in their minds.
Pride welled in Rowena as she perceived the powerful aura now radiating from Asher, far stronger than when he'd departed.
She could also notice that he seemed to have changed in some inexplicable way, especially the way he was looking at her as if she was all he could see at this moment.
She realized how much she missed to see that look in his eyes compared to the way he looked at her before he left.
Her gaze, momentarily softening upon him, snapped to glacial ferocity as she pivoted toward Belthor.
Yet, before words could leap from her lips, a fluttering of dark fabric in the wind drew every eye back to Asher.
He lifted into the air, his figure silently defying the very gravity that bound others, and floated gently beside Rowena. The gathered assembly, mouths agape, could only watch in awed silence.
He can now fly too?
Asher's eyes, a deep and boundless abyss, enveloped Rowena in a gaze that seemed to brush past the exterior of queenly poise and pierce straight into the depths of her soul.
His lips parted, voice a gentle caress, brushing the words across the silence between them, "I've returned, Rowena. I kept my promise."
The faintest trace of a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, her hand rising to gently grasp his, a warm solidarity in the chilling stand-off enveloping them, "Welcome home..." she whispered, every syllable soaked with a relief and happiness that spilled forth from every pore, "Our people will surely rejoice upon hearing of your return," Her slender fingers firmly wrapped around his hand as if she didn't want to let go of him if all this turned out to be a dream.
Rowena was no longer concerned about showing her affection to him like this since people already knew, and she couldn't resist holding him and feeling his warmth. Nothing else mattered more in this moment than feeling his touch.
Behind them, Belthor's eyes twitched violently, the air around him crackling with unbridled rage as the couple before him seemed to melt into their own world, dismissing his very existence.
"Consort Drake," Belthor spat, voice low and dangerous, "you have tread on our tails, and mind you, the consequences will be dire for doing so."
But Asher, unshaken, wore an apologetic smile as his eyes slid towards the consul, "Oh, my apologies, Consul Belthor. I've been quite on edge recently. You see, moments before appearing here, I was fending off thiefs eager to steal my Deviar. When I was teleported back here suddenly, and these doors swung open, I instinctively reacted to your prince as yet another threat. An honest mistake, really, and I didn't even use much of my strength. Surely neither you nor your kingdom would begrudge me that, yes?"
"You...you possess the Deviar?" Belthor's voice wavered between disbelief and trepidation that dared not fully form, his eyes locked onto Asher's now impossibly vibrant aura. The shock even made him ignore his ludicrous reponse and forget about Drakon's condition or perhaps it wasn't as important as what he just heard.
He didn't want to believe it was really true, but the confidence this consort was showing and the aura he was emanating made it seem like it was.
A casual shrug and Asher replied, his voice light, almost teasing, "Isn't it quite evident? I assume you've also pieced together that I've absorbed the Deviar as well. Perhaps, Consul, your immediate concern should be on your people who returned back to your kingdom from the quest, hm?"
Belthor, clenching his teeth, could only stew silently in his own shock, the Draconians hoisting their unconscious prince onto a chariot while they themselves were shocked to overhear this.
They were all expecting their Prince Agonon to return home with the Deviar and not this alien from the Bloodburn Kingdom, who was weak enough to die from a single breath from Agonon before the quest started.
As for Rowena, she felt like her heart was soaring through the skies to see that he did indeed manage to earn the Deviar and even absorbed it already.
It was a feat nobody had accomplished in history, and she was sure now he would be forever immortalized in the annals of history for this feat alone.
Only someone like him could have achieved something impossible like this.
She felt that enduring the wait for 14 months was worth it.
But at the same time she felt her heart weighing down in her chest, wondering what all he had to go through and how much he had to risk his life to get it.
Belthor's eyes, practically drowning in disbelief, managed to regain his senses. His voice, though shaky, clung desperately to a semblance of defiance, "Impossible... Even assuming you did procure the Deviar, absorbing it within mere months... Nobody could do that. Not even the great Devourer himself. Are you certain what you have is the Deviar, or perhaps-"
But Asher, his voice low and laced with an almost dangerous calm, interjected, "Months? It took but a mere moment, Consul," He then unveiled a black amulet, its aura dark yet undeniably devilish, seemingly alive with a restless, shadowy energy that thrummed softly through it.
Elevated for all to witness, Asher declared, "This, Consul Belthor, is my Deviar."
Gulps of shock echoed amidst the gathering as eyes were irresistibly drawn to the dark amulet, its presence an undeniable declaration of Asher's formidable new status.
Such a powerful Deviar was enough to build a new House from scratch and gain tremendous influence.
Tucking the amulet away, Asher continued, hands clasped casually behind his back, "I find myself wounded by you doubting my words. But you believe me now, don't you?"
Belthor's eyes blinked rapidly, as if attempting to shutter away a nightmare, but the potent image of the Deviar remained etched before him. His mind screamed the urgency of returning to his kingdom, yet Asher's voice again permeated the tense silence.
"But you sought an answer from my wife regarding a spar, did you not?" Asher inquired, a brow arching questioningly, while Belthor's brows knotted in simmering frustration, and Rowena regarded Asher with concern.
Asher's grin held a certain confident charm, "Inform your king that I accept. I will let him know the date later."
"Asher..." Rowena's voice was a soft murmur, a tender ripple of worry, but she held her silence further, recognizing the resolved gleam in his eyes.
Belthor, though rattled, managed a rough, grating harrumph, "Your response will be conveyed to my king," His gaze shifted to Drakon, his motionless form a stark reminder of the day's events, before landing back on Asher, "But do not, even for a moment, assume today's happenings will simply be forgotten."
Rowena frowned as she stepped forward and said in a frigid tone, "It shouldn't. But you people shouldn't forget what happens to those who try to defile my home," Saying so, her feet glowed with a crimson light as the blood and the saliva that stained the steps of her castle evaporated into oblivion.
Belthor felt chills passing down his spine upon feeling the deadly intent in her tone, even though she didn't specify anyone and could hear the chilling low growls coming from her dragon perched atop the castle.
"W-We are leaving!" Belthor mustered whatever strength he could gather towards his throat as he ordered his men to leave. But only later on, after calming down from the shock of what they just witnessed, would they realize that their prince Drakon was far more injured than they thought.
Most of his mana circuit was gradually burned away over time, making it really difficult for them to notice until later. And this meant he would have a deformed mana-circuit making him not much better than a cripple!
Asher narrowed his eyes upon seeing the draconians leave and knew this was only the beginning. He wondered what fate had in store for him in the future.
He then gently caressed Rowena's hand as he turned to look at her, "Shall we go inside? I have so much to share with you."
"Mn," Rowena nodded as her lips slowly melted into a soft smile, eager to know what he went through.
